May have to part out my GL1100 unless someone comes up with something

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dafox999

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Sep 23, 2013
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While my '83 1100 was parked in front of my house, a guy flies by and hits it. I had the forks locked. You can't see where he hit it. Not a scratch / mark on it, but it flips over upside down in my front yard. My wife and I get it back on it's wheels, but ignition switch is frozen and bars won't move. Seriously, it flipped upside down and nothing broken .. even windshield survived. Pretty sure he hit the front tire. So, I pull the ignition switch, so I can ride it back into the driveway. The lock bar that comes out of the switch is damaged. I get another switch on ebay and install. Put everything back together and take it for a ride. It was like balancing on a beach ball. Just couldn't ride straight. Scary.

So .. pretty sure I've got a bent something. Maybe the fork bracket, maybe the frame, possibly forks. Nothing looks bent, but something must be. Front wheel is fine, forks compress perfectly, wheel/handlebars move freely.

The bike is probably worth $1500, and I don't intend on spending half that to get it going, but don't even know how to approach this. At this point, it's unsafe to ride, and would have to sell for parts. Very sad, because it's running perfectly, and looks fantastic. Entertaining all thoughts.
 
I am sorry to hear about that! Don't give up yet! The frame is very symetrical and anything bent is fairly easy to find with the faring and seat off. I would be more inclined to believe it is your front forks. Do you know for sure where the impact was from the other vehicle? These forks will bend very easily and they don't have to be out much to wobble.
 
sheesh the luck ... something is bent ... proof its in the fork area is the fact the lock was stuck ....obviously it is more sprung out of shape than bent to the visable eye ...seriously its not really hurt bad at all it just needs torque back into alignment ....

its possible to do it with the fork off and front end fairing off if it has one false tank and all ...im betting the triple tree tube is where the leverage would have to applied to straiten it ...

rolling the bike downw a chalk line pop on flat pavnent will tell you what up and witch way it needs to go ...

this is shame ..bike really not hurt bad at all but fixing is kind of huge job ...hard to jig everything solid and torque whats needed ...
 
If it were mine, I'd pull the forks and check then very carefully. Also, triple trees are cheap on Ebay. If the steering lock was jammed, the tree is probably twisted. Jack up the front end and spin the wheel, checking for straightness.

There's also the possiblity that when it flipped, it landed funny on the rear wheel, so check it and the swingarm for any damage.

There's gotta be evidence of the hit somewhere - a tire scuff, scratch on the fork... The steering head on the frame is extremely strong. The fork tube or triple tree will bend before the frame does. Pull the fairing and take some good close-up shots.
 
Also check the weld seams on the front of the frame and steering head, most of the time if they are bent, it will pop the paint off the seam and you will see a crack. My guess is like the others, triple tree, stem or forks.
 
First try and loosen fork brace and triple tree bolts.. then flex the wheel to see if it will go straight.. the hit may have twisted the wheel off center and rotated in the mounts., wouldn't take much to be out of line.. and the three places that support the forks are the upper and lower tree and the fork brace just above the wheel.. if you have one installed..
 
+1 to all the above suggestions and one more. Loosen all the front components and see if they can be realigned straight.
 
Wow .. whatta great lotta thoughts and ideas. I was a mechanic (car / boat) MANY years ago. I'm much better diagnosing or tearing a motor down than these types of things. I do think the forks or triple tree is the most likely weak point, but I'm way not an expert. I'm not afraid to tear into it, but I know when I had a slightly bent suspension part on a car, it was VERY hard to tell. How do I know if something is slightly bent in some angle different than how it was manufactured? In other words, can I tell by looking at it, or do I need some special tools?

thanks again, gang.
 
Go with the classic stuff. A simple straight edge will tell you if the forks are bent. Check on all sides but the fastest check would be directly behind the triple tree on the lower brackets right at the fork. Follow down to the fork lower. Most likely, if bent, they are bent between the lower and the triple tree.

You can also take the straight edge across the forks and measure the centers of the forks every inch or so to see if there is any separation or if they come together at all.
 
Or you can use a pipe and a couple of vice grips.. at the bottom of the lower.triple.. clamp a vice grip on the pipe then hold against the fork tube on one side... clamp the other on the pipe against the other side and move down to the fender.. if bent there will be a gap or the vice grips will be pushed apart.. center the wheel when on side stand.. look down the tubes at the other side and see if one side is in front or behind the other..if the wheel is centered and bars are not the forks maybe torqued...
 
hmmmm gee i bought an 83 that had been wreck ... dont know how this didnt accure to me till now fprk tube were bent ....replaced them ...bike still didnt ride good at all ...tore everything apart ... im front ..the frame turn out fine ....the weak link in all this is the tube the bearing fit on ...in the triple tree ... after look real good at it ... thats what bent ..between the top and bottom bearing ...this has been yrs ago and didnt even think of it till this morning after reading this thread again ... it was hard to beleave the slight bend did all the problems this bike had ... changed triple tree and everything was fine ...
 
Don't forget about front / rear wheel alignment either.
Find a pr. of STRAIGHT 2x4's about 8 ft long (pvc tubing will also work). Also called the "string test", but I find it easier to measure the clearance if you don't have a helper, using the aforementioned items.
I use a zip ty to secure 'em to the rear wheel in two places, both sides, with the extra length overhanging the front tire.
Now check parallelism clearance of front tire.
 

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